It has been predicted up to 10,000 new jobs could be created in Coventry and Warwickshire in the wake of the creation of a national centre to develop batteries for the electric vehicles of the future - but where will those jobs come from?

The National Battery Manufacturing Development Facility (NBMDF), which is set to be built at Whitley, represents £80million of government funding but in itself is expected to create just 100 jobs.

However the NBMDF is seen very much as a catalyst for what might follow in its wake and thought to have the potential to unlock 10,000 new jobs once it is running at full capacity.

Bringing the facility to Coventry, as part of a national competition to choose where it would be sited, could prove a key building block for Coventry to become the UK’s Motor City once again.

Not only that but it could see Coventry and Warwickshire ultimately lead the world in electric vehicle technology.

Jaguar Land Rover wants to move swiftly too, saying it wants to have electrified versions of all its new models from 2020 onwards.

The company is close to launching its first all-electric car, the Jaguar I-Pace, which goes on sale next year.

For the time being that is being manufactured under contract in Austria by Magna Steyr, but if Jaguar Land Rover is to fulfil its electric car dream then it will need to start producing both batteries and cars elsewhere and that is almost certainly set to be Coventry.

In November last year Mr Speth said the company wants to build the next generation of electric cars and their batteries in Coventry - generating thousands of jobs and creating the UK’s first ‘smart city’.

A CGI of the National Battery Prototype Centre being developed by Warwick Manufacturing Group and the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership

The likelihood of that is strengthened by the fact the NBMDF is likely to become part of the Whitley South Technology Campus, close to the site where Jaguar Land Rover is currently expanding its operations.

Battery and electric vehicle production by Jaguar Land Rover in Coventry would almost certainly create several thousand jobs but the knock-on effects of that in the supply chain would create thousands more.

Given the synergies in battery and electric vehicle development it is likely those suppliers would want to be on Jaguar Land Rover’s doorstep.

Read More

That Coventry is well on its way to once again becoming a ‘motor city’ is in no doubt by many.

At the recent announcement of the NBMDF coming to Coventry at the University of Warwick, the city council’s development supremo Martin Yardley said: “The £80m battery research facility is exactly what we think we need with our ideal to become motor city.

“We have seen steady growth in re-establishing ourselves as a cutting edge centre for this type of research and development in motor vehicles.

“This is just another step in part of that process.”

Mr Yardley said the city’s revival in the motor industry was well under way and set to continue, with many more jobs likely to be created.

He added: “There are probably more people working in car manufacturing in Coventry and Warwickshire now than there have been for many many years and we just see that figure going up and up and up.”

Mr Yardley’s vision is backed by Prof Lord Bhattacharyya, chairman of WMG, who said winning the race to be the home of the NBMDF was an example of “Coventry and Warwickshire being classified as the smart motor city coming to fruition”.

He added: “It is the next level of development to make Coventry a centre of attraction for automotive production. I am quite sure this will be one of the triggers.”

Coventry councillor Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs and regeneration, said: “Car manufacturing provided a secure, well paid job for thousands of Coventry people, including me.

“And now battery development has the potential to do the same for a whole new generation of Coventry people.

“I hope battery development will create thousands of new jobs.”

The bid for the NBMDF was made by WMG at the University of Warwick, Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership and Coventry City Council.

WMG has been working for 15 years with industry to develop and prove new battery technologies and has close ties with JLR.

The NBMDF will see the development of the next generation of battery systems across battery chemistry, electrodes, cell design, module and pack level and will see a partnership between academia and industry.